Does anyone know Bunbury in Australia?

[farawayplaces]

DH wants to apply for a job there. It would mean relocating the whole family. We have two DC. I know nothing about the city other than its in vaguely the same area as Perth.

Any insider information?

Have a look at the Facebook pages that mention the area, there seems to be several local groups that are similar to the local sites you may find on Facebook in the UK (local 'Spotted' groups etc)

It may give you an idea of things that go on and whether it seems like a nice place, if people are social.

atotaxrates.info/individual-tax-rates-resident/ato-tax-rates-2023/

The hospital is on the south side of bunbury, on the busselton side, so you may be able to find a place between bunbury and busselton.

Ignore some of the older answers. I was in busselton three weeks ago, and I was amazed at how much it had changed. It is growing so fast. Lots and lots of building going on. Roads are getting much better. 50km drive down there is very different to driving in the UK.

Lots of places to eat. Often brew their own beer.

Can get very busy in the summer holidays. Not as bad as Cornwall, but similar.

Racism is getting better. Still room for improvement. But much better than it used to be.

Sure, it's country, but people are much more progressive than they used to be. Lots of artsy type places. Many more vegetarian options. Obviously it's not the centre of culture that London is, but it's not as bad as some make out.

But, there's not many places that have beaches that just roll on forever with pristine clear water.

Does get busy in the summer holidays though.

I would check out private schools if you are worried about the local schools.

I'm on the eastern side of Australia so can't give advice about Bunbury but one thing you have to get used to is travelling distances between places. 50km is nothing especially somewhere like WA. Not unusual here for people to commute 1-2 hours to work (some do more)

Bunbury is a city a couple of hours from Perth (the capital city of WA). It's on a peninsula, so think seaside. It's beautiful. Trendy shops and cafes. That whole region is lovely. WA is on the western side of the continent (obviously), Perth is a 5 hour flight from Brisbane, Queensland, and a bit less I think from Sydney and Melbourne. So even though it's a fair way from the eastern side of the continent, it's easy to jump on a flight and go exploring when you have holidays.

FWIW, My family moved from England to Australia and you wouldn't ever get me back to England. I adore the country, amazing place to raise a family and I'm so looking forward to retiring and exploring the whole place more.

I am, as my name states a Bunbury mum. Reading some of the opinions here makes me laugh a bit.

Bunbury is actually a lovely city. I don't know how old your children are but the council recently opened a new youth precinct for teenagers in the area and a free splash park for younger children across the road from Koombana bay which is a nice chilled beach great for younger kids. The town beach near the surf life saving club is better for teens.

There is reasonable public transport although it is much easier with a car. There are quite a few options schooling wise, Bunbury Senior High School is the best public high school but there are good private school options too.

If you write what some of your hobbies are I could probably point you in the right direction.

While you say you don’t need to work, if you currently work and your children are at school, don’t underestimate the insane boredom of having nothing to do all day in a new area where you know no one.

My parents spent several years as ex pats in the US where my (professionally qualified, always worked previously) mum couldn’t work and even with a thriving ex pat community, she was bored rigid. She eventually got into serious volunteering but there was a reason we moved back to the UK.

If there is no thriving ex pat community in Bunbury, it may be even worse (though I accept the internet makes things much easier these days).

Also, you might want to bear in mind there might be a reason they are having to recruit from the UK. There are doctors in Australia plus a lot of NZ doctors go to Australia for at least a few years for the higher salary. Why are none of them interested?

Also, you might want to bear in mind there might be a reason they are having to recruit from the UK. There are doctors in Australia plus a lot of NZ doctors go to Australia for at least a few years for the higher salary. Why are none of them interested?

Simple answer, there are not nearly enough in Australia to cover need. Never will be due to training places being far lower than need. Means you need to bring them in, generally from UK, Canada and NZ. As for why Bunbury specifically, that’s easy. It’s a numbers game, most people who go to med school and train in Aus come from the major cities, and unsurprisingly have a preference to stay around ‘home’ due to the family/friends factor. So they will be vying for positions with higher salaries around their home bases and many would prefer to sacrifice a higher job/salary if it means moving interstate. That means the main need for blow ins is outside of the major centres.

The area around bunbury is beautiful, and personally I love WA even though I live on the East coast.
It’s certainly a high level job and I can see the appeal to your husband of that career wise. The medical system in Australia is different to the Uk and would be an adjustment for him for sure.
and honestly if you currently live in an actual city in England you will have a real culture shock. Bunbury is not a city by Uk standards.
Having said that hospital work life balance is 100 times better than the nhs, and pay for healthcare professionals is significantly better as well. You’ll also be close to one of the loveliest wine regions I’ve been to.

I have 2 ex-colleagues, a husband and wife team, who moved from Perth to Bunbury and absolutely love it. For them, it feels like a semi-retirement, both work at the hospital, one is an RN, one is a midwife.

Another, younger, friend and her fiancé also moved to Bunbury because they have a boat and are able to take it out more often (more accessible for boating I believe as it’s apparently quite expensive to live in a similar location in Perth). She also works as an RN at the hospital.

I believe there is/used to be a train from Perth to Bunbury that runs/ran twice a day, morning and afternoon.

I suppose it just depends on what you are looking for in terms of outdoor activities etc.

Oh, I forgot this. I believe there are agricultural shows that happen and there’s one there every year plus in surrounding towns/locations.

The weather is different too in WA, not much rain except in winter, nice springs/autumn (I believe that seasons aren’t a thing so I’m using seasons as an approximation) and scorching summers. I think Bunbury is cooler though. A quick google told me that Perth is 35C today and Bunbury is 30C.

Yes! It’s a really nice area, especially if you love the ocean.
It doesn’t feel isolated at all. I always smile when people on here comment about how isolated Aus (especially Perth) is. That’s part of the appeal!

Education in Aus is nowhere near as good as education in the UK, however, education here is more rounded and students are given the opportunity to grow in different areas, rather than just academically. Here, I find children have a longer and more relaxed childhood. In England, I always felt students had to conform to rules and be stripped of their identity while being dictated to, here, learning is inquiry based and students develop more rounded skills (eg mental well-being, confidence and embracing their personal skills and identities etc). If you are a parent who thrives on test scores then it may not be the best place for you, especially if you do plan on returning to the UK in the future.

Drugs and drug related crime is pretty high across Australia. I’m not sure if I’m more aware of it because I came from the sleepiest village in England though.

The lifestyle is just amazing though. Especially for families and children. Healthcare is far better here. You can get direct flights from Perth to the UK now so no changing flights. Perth is close to Bali for international holidays, though you’ll likely not crave holidays abroad as much if you live here as there’s just so much to see. The Cocos islands are part of WA, and they’re heaven on earth.

Some things are a lot more expensive here, yet salary is a lot higher which mitigates that. I found in the UK with 2 x full time wages, we were always chasing our tails and could just about make ends meet. Here, we work less, dropped to one income for a while, yet managed to bank savings each pay. We eat healthier here and for us, life is brighter here.

I live on the East Coast now but wouldn’t hesitate to return to WA. It’s truly stunning. Good luck whatever you do decide to do, you really won’t know until you try I suppose.

I have family in a small coastal town similar. The upside is that they are beautiful places to live with wide open spaces and you get a decent amount of land with your property. The downside was more social, if you don't fit into the outgoing sporty type personality, at school it was really tough. Casual racism and misogyny was commonplace. Mental health consisted of pull your socks up and do team sports . It wasn't even as remote as this town either.

As a medic small town medicine is different too, my family member is a nurse practitioner and found the switch very hard, she was treated with less respect than in the U.K. where she had lots of autonomy, she said private medical insurance also meant that the only people they saw were the poorest.

It’s always funny reading comments on mumsnet about Australia, from know it alls who more than likely have never even set foot in Aus. I can’t understand it, but hey ho.

Glad OP has you for advice. I absolutely adore Banbury, you are so right, it’s a lovely city with a small town feel.

I'm more familiar with Busselton and Dunsborough - the whole area is a beautiful place and close to Margaret River wine region. I think only really stopped at bunbury for fuel. As a tourist though I love WA. That SW region has stunning beaches.

www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW6017.latest.shtml

www.australindbaptistchurch.com/australind-carols/

Don’t mind the Baptist Church bit (unless you’re Baptist, of course) but this has been going on all over the country for the last couple of weeks. It’s a lovely way to groove to the season.

I would do this if your kids are young but I'd think very hard if they're in or entering high school.

@farawayplaces Have we convinced you yet?

The population is 75,000 - it’s a small city with a small town feel.

That population is the greater Bunbury area which covers four local government councils. The population of the city itself is less than half that.

If it hasn't been said already, "city" in Australia is often not the same as in the UK. For instance I live in the City of Bayside, but it's a whole bunch of suburbs. Very nice ones I might add.

A city in any way approximating the UK sense would be the state/territory capitals.

It definitely has a small town feel. Coming from a typical UK city, it might be a bit of a culture shock.

However, I would definitely go. Use it as stepping stone to move up to Perth if small town life doesn’t suit.